There is not a human being who has no worries. Some of our worries are small, and some are big. But every day, there is usually one worry that bothers us through the day. The problem is that we often do nothing about it. Yet if we were to do something (even taking a minor action), it would reduce the worry considerably. Here is a 7-point, step-by-step method to reduce or eliminate your major worry today.

1. Write it down. Don't just let the worry rattle around in your brain; get it down on paper. And make it specific. No matter how big or small it may seem to others, what - specifically - is your biggest worry today?

2. Make a list of 3 to 10 specific, practical actions in the real world that you could take to do something about it? Now, pick one of those steps that you could actually do today, and write it down.

3. Take a nice comfortable breath, like an ordinary, everyday sigh. Pay careful attention to the relaxation it creates. Now focus that attention completely on that one action step you just wrote down.

4. Give yourself a positive self-pep-talk. Tell yourself that you will succeed in solving this problem and achieving your goals. It doesn't matter whether or not you believe it, just say it.

5. Create a picture in your mind's eye of yourself performing that action. See yourself doing it. What does it look like when you perform that action? What does it feel like?

6. Now, visualize what will happen when you complete the action step. See yourself having accomplished it. Notice what it feels like to have accomplish it. Notice how accomplishing that action step impacts your worry and reduces or eliminates it. Get that picture in your mind's eye.

7. Now, do it. Perform the action now or as soon as possible. This has to be your #1 priority today. It is only when you actually do something tangible about a worry that it ceases to be as big a worry. Let's just say that you're taking what was experienced as a crisis and turning it into a solvable problem that you can do something about.

Dr. Sander Marcus is a clinical psychologist with the Center for Research & Service at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago. Specializing in motivational, career, and business areas, he has co-authored two books on underachievement and a nationally used sales test (the SalesAP, Sales Achievement Predictor), as well as dozens of articles. He can be contacted at marcus@iit.edu, 312-567-3358. The IIT Center website is www.center.iit.edu.